Kyla Cresswell

Kyla Cresswell grew up in Murihiku Southland, New Zealand. She majored in Printmaking at the Otago School of Art before spending many years travelling, eventually settling in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington for 16 years, then more recently Ōtepoti Dunedin. 
Kyla has always been drawn to a pared down aesthetic and through a variety of printmaking techniques—mezzotint, drypoint and embossing—she explores the micro and macro of the natural world.
Kyla’s practice relates back to the land. It is grounded in the space where she stands. Her work over the past two decades has often reflected on challenges faced by the natural environment, focusing on nature’s fragility, tenacity and resilience.
In 2022 Kyla was awarded the William Hodges Fellowship producing a series of works ‘Tracing the Land’ which explores the biological histories in the built environment. Highlighting the connection between the urban landscape and precious remnant endemic bush and wetland.
Kyla has exhibited widely nationally and internationally. Her work is held in private and public collections around the world including the Department of Conservation Collection, the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Collection and the Hocken Collections Te Uare Taoka ō Hākena, University of Otago.